In the fall of 1981, after decommissioning the USS Tacoma,
I received orders to the USS John Rodgers, a Spruance class destroyer.
While on board I served as the Commo (Communications Officer) and the Perso
(Personnel Officer). The ship crossed the equator and transited both the
Panama and the Suez Canals while I was aboard. I spent six months in the
Persian Gulf and seven in the Mediterranean. I even spent two months off
the coast of Nicaragua. While in the Med, we spent most of our time off
the coast of Lebanon and fired 255 rounds into the hills. The task force
we were a part of is show below. It was a big production to get all the ships
into line. The John Rodgers is the large one to the left side with the long
white wake behind it.

I reported aboard expecting to go to work in the Engineering Department.
I mentioned an interest in other Departments and they decided that a new Communications
Officer was needed, so sent me off to Comm School in Newport, Rhode Island.
I cut my classes short a couple of weeks to return to the ship prior to deployment
and still managed to graduate with honors. One of the instructors was RM1
Bassett, he was gracious enough to invite me to his home and I actually passed
my Morse Code test for a Ham Radio license. He demonstrated teletype and MARS
connections to me and this is his QSL card. I was one of only two Morse Code
Operators aboard the ship for most of the time.

On my first cruise, we were stationed in the Persian
Gulf at a spot we called 'Gonzo Station.' I'm in the next picture.

I'm the one in the stretcher! I was air lifted off
and taken to the American Mission Hospital in Manama Bahrain for an emergency
appendectomy. You can read the full story here, Desert
Duck.

I became a Shellback shortly after my return to the ship when we went to
Kenya for a week. The picture below was taken in Tsabo National Park, Kenya.

I attended the Harpoon Missile School and was qualified to stand watch in
the Combat Information Center (CIC).

The second cruise while I was on the John Rodgers was
spent in the Eastern Med. We visited Israel and Egypt.

While off the coast of Lebanon, aboard the USS John
Rodgers, the crew was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Presidential
Unit Citation.

This AP Wirephoto showed up in many papers across the United States. At the
same time live photos where on television. My grandmother even wrote me a
letter to say that she had seen my ship on TV! The photo perspective is pretty
interesting, because I never felt that we were this close to the shore! I
have a dozen or so articles from various papers describing the situation,
the ship and what we were doing, as well as letters from many individuals.
The picture on the right is the bottom of one of the 5" 54 shell casings
that we fired into the mountains. It was given to me on leaving the John Rodgers.

20 September -- Residence of U.S. ambassador was shelled; USS John Rodgers
and USS Virginia responded.

U.S. FIRES IN SUPPORT OF LEBANON - NAVY SHIPS SHELL REBELS NEAR BEIRUT
Source: David Zucchino, Inquirer Staff Writer

U.S. gunships, in their largest naval bombardment since the Vietnam War,
yesterday dramatically escalated the American role in Lebanon by firing for
the first time in direct support of the exhausted Lebanese army in the Shouf
Mountains overlooking Beirut. Two U.S. Navy ships, the destroyer John Rodgers
and the guided-missile carrier Virginia, unleashed a deafening barrage of
high-explosive shells that crashed down on Syrian-backed rebel militiamen,
. . .
Published on September 20, 1983, Page A01, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)

21 September -- USS John Rodgers and USS Arthur Radford (DD-968) responded
to shelling of Marines at Beirut International Airport.

On our way to the Eastern Med, we stopped in Trieste, Italy for a
few days. Trips to Austria and Venice were arranged. To the left you'll
see me in St. Mark's square.

On our way home in July, we got to spend some time in
Monte Carlo, Monaco. The way to and from the beach was to take the 'Liberty
Boat.' If we were lucky, we could hitch a ride with the Captain in the
Captain's Gig, which was a bit more comfortable. Below I'm in the gig
with some of my fellow officers.

We also spent a great deal of time that summer following this ship around,
the Soviet Aircraft Carrier Novorossiysk, CVHG-137, on her maiden voyage in
1982. This was a 40,000-ton conventional powered vessel with helicopters and
vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The air wing consisted of a dozen
Yak-38 "Forger" VTOL fighters and twenty helicopters. This class of carrier
carried significant missile capability that included SS-N-12 antiship missiles,
SA-N-3 and SA-N-4 SAMs. For ASW work, there was an SUW-N-1 FRAS launcher and
RBU-6000 ASW mortars.

Navy Unit Citation, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
with two stars, Rifle Marksman, Pistol Sharpshooter(it became Expert while
with the Marines!).